UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  PUBLICATIONS 


COLLEGE  OF  AGRICULTURE 

AGRICULTURAL   EXPERIMENT   STATION 

BERKELEY,  CALIFORNIA 


A  Study  of  the  Relative  Values  of  Certain 

Succulent   Feeds   and  Alfalfa  Meal   as 

Sources  of  Vitamin  A  for  Poultry 


BY 
D.  E.  DAVIS  AND  J.  R.  BEACH 


BULLETIN  No.  384 

March,  1925 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  PRINTING  OFFICE 

BERKELEY,  CALIFORNIA 

1925 


A  STUDY  OF  THE  RELATIVE  VALUES  OF  CERTAIN 

SUCCULENT   FEEDS  AND  ALFALFA  MEAL  AS 

SOURCES  OF  VITAMIN  A  FOR  POULTRY 


By  D.  E.  DAVIS  and  J.  B.  BEACH 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction 3 

Plan  of  experiment 4 

Final  results  obtained  in  the  different  groups 7 

Discussion  of  the  experiment 10 

Tabulated  results  of  the  experiment 11 

Conclusions 13 


INTRODUCTION 

The  occurrence  of  a  nutritional  disease  of  poultry  resembling  roup 
was  reported,  in  1919,  by  Haring,  Beach,  and  Jaffa.1  Beach,2  in  1924, 
reported  further  studies  of  this  disease  in  which  he  showed  that  it  is 
caused  by  a  deficiency  of  vitamin  A  in  the  ration.  Green  food  is  the 
chief  source  of  vitamin  A  in  poultry  rations  in  California  and  a 
shortage  of  this  food-stuff  is  the  most  common  cause  of  the  occurrence 
of  this  deficiency  disease  here.  Although  green  feed  can  be  grown 
throughout  the  year  in  most  of  the  poultry  raising  districts  of  the 
state,  poultrymen  are  frequently  confronted  with  a  shortage  of  this 
feed  on  account  of  lack  of  irrigation  facilities,  limited  acreage,  or  cold 
weather.  Another  common  cause  of  a  shortage  of  green  food  is  the 
failure,  on  the  part  of  some  poultrymen,  to  make  provision  for  an 
emergency  supply  when  the  usual  supply,  as  a  result  of  climatic  or 
other  conditions,  fails.  When  conditions,  therefore,  are  such  that  the 
growing  of  sufficient  green  food  is  rendered  difficult,  it  is  important 
to  know  the  comparative  value  of  different  varieties  of  green  feeds  as 
sources  of  vitamin  A  for  poultry.  The  same  is  true  regarding  such 
products  as  artificially  sprouted  grains,  alfalfa  meal,  and  root  crops, 
such  as  carrots  and  mangel  beets,  'which  might  be  utilized  as  an 
emergency  substitute  for  greens  during  periods  of  shortage.  It  was 
with  these  points  in  view  that  the  investigation  herein  reported  was 
undertaken. 


i  Calif.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Ept.,  p.  79,  1920. 

2  Beach,  J.  B.,  Studies  on  a  nutritional  disease  of  poultry  caused  bv  vitamin 
A  deficiency.     Calif.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Bull.  378:  1-22,  figs.  1-7,  1924. 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT   STATION 


PLAN  OF  THE  EXPEEIMENT 

The  general  plan  of  the  experiment  was  to  feed  fowls  a  basal  ration 
which  previous  experiments2  had  shown  to  be  deficient  in  vitamin  A 
and  to  supplement  this  with  different  varieties  of  green  food  commonly 
used,  alfalfa  meal,  carrots,  or  mangel  beets.  The  basal  ration  was  a 
dry  mash  mixture  which  was  constantly  before  the  birds  in  hoppers 
and  which  consisted  of : 

Bran    25  per  cent 

Shorts   25  per  cent 

Ground  Barley 25  per  cent 

Soya  Bean  Meal  10  per  cent 

Meat  Scrap  15  per  cent 

and  a  scratch  grain  mixture  which  was  fed  twice  daily  in  the  litter  and 
which  consisted  of: 

Wheat  33%  per  cent 

Recleaned  Barley  33%  per  cent 

Egyptian  White  Corn  33%  per  cent 

Grit  and  oyster  shell  were  available  at  all  times.  The  birds  were 
confined  in  houses  which  had  tight  board  floors  covered  with  shavings 
for  litter. 

The  supplements  used  were  field-grown  green  barley  cut  when  six 
to  ten  inches  high ;  red  clover  cut  when  two  to  four  inches  high ;  the 
large  leaves  of  Jersey  kale;  leaves  and  tender  stems  of  green  alfalfa; 
blue  grass  lawn  clippings;  the  entire  plant3  (root,  grain,  and  stalk) 
of  artificially  sprouted  barley  grown  indoors  to  the  height  of  three  or 
four  inches;  common  market  varieties  of  carrots;  mangel  beets;  and 
alfalfa  meal  of  good  color  which  contained  17.2  per  cent  protein  and 
25.4  per  cent  fiber.4 

A  weighed  amount  of  a  supplement  was  fed  individually  to  each 
bird  daily  except  Sunday.  Feeding  was  accomplished  in  a  specially 
constructed  coop  (fig.  1)  provided  with  removable  partitions  which 
divided  it  into  six  small  compartments  for  individual  birds.  The 
grilled  sides  of  the  cage  permitted  the  birds  to  eat  food  placed  in  a 
cup  suspended  on  the  outside.  Birds  which  did  not  voluntarily 
consume  all  of  their  daily  supply  were  forcibly  fed  the  remainder. 


3  The  weight  of  the  green  stalk  was  found  to  be  approximately  12.5  per  cent 
of  the  weight  of  the  entire  plant. 

4  The  writers  are  indebted  to  Mr.  H.  Goss,  Division  of  Nutrition,  for  analysis 
of  alfalfa  meal. 


BULLETIN  384]         SUCCULENT  FEEDS  AS  SOURCES  OF  VITAMIN  A  5 

It  was  desired  to  employ  at  the  start  of  the  experiment  less  than 
the  minimum  requirements  of  each  supplement.  Since  no  definite 
data  on  this  point  were  available  the  minimum  daily  supply  was 
arbitrarily  fixed  at  one  gram  for  each  bird.  The  daily  amount  of  any 
supplement  was  doubled  for  all  birds  in  a  group  when  any  bird  in 
that  group  exhibited  definite  indications  of  suffering  from  vitamin  A 
deficiency.  When  additional  birds  became  affected  after  an  increase 
in  the  supplement,  the  daily  amount  was  again  doubled.    The  appear- 


Fig.  1. — Coop  used  for  the  individual  feeding  of  supplements. 


ance  of  either  the  characteristic  ophthalmia,  or  pustules  in  the  mouth 
or  esophagus,  described  by  Beach,5  was  regarded  as  a  definite  indica- 
tion of  vitamin  A  deficiency. 

White  Leghorn  pullets  three  months  old  were  used.  They  were 
divided  into  ten  groups  of  six  birds  each  and  placed  in  five  pens  of 
two  groups  each.    Table  1  gives  the  ration  for  each  group. 

The  birds  were  procured  and  divided  into  the  various  groups  on 
December  10,  1923,  but,  since  it  was  thought  desirable  to  allow  them  to 
accustom  themselves  to  the  basal  ration  and  the  new  environment,  the 
actual  experimental  feeding  was  not  started  until  January  14,  1924. 

5  Beach,  I.e.  p.  1. 


b  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 

The  feed  consisted  of  the  basal  ration  with  the  addition  to  the  grain 
mixture  of  25  per  cent  of  yellow  corn  which,  it  was  thought,  would 
supply  sufficient  vitamin  A  during  the  preparatory  period. 

On  December  26,  bird  229  (group  7)  died.  Post-morten  examina- 
tion showed  a  heavy  infestation  of  intestinal  round  worms  (A.  galli),  a 
few  pustules  in  the  esophagus,  and  a  slight  ophthalmia.  On  December 
27,  each  bird  was  examined  and  one  (217,  group  5),  was  found  with 
marked  lesions  due  to  vitamin  A  deficiency.  This  bird  died  on  the 
following  day  and  was  found  to  be  also  heavily  infested  with  intestinal 
worms.    The  ration  was  then  changed  by  the  substitution  of  corn  meal 

TABLE  1 


Pen 
No. 

Group 
No. 

Bird 
No. 

Ration 

I 

1 

2 

201-206 
207-212 

Basal  ration  plus  field  grown  barley. 
Basal  ration  plus  red  clover. 

II 

3 

4 

237-242 
243-248 

Basal  ration  plus  kale. 

Basal  ration  plus  green  alfalfa. 

III 

5 

6 

213-218 
219-224 

Basal  ration  plus  blue  grass  lawn  clippings. 
Basal  ration  plus  sprouted  barley. 

IV 

7 
8 

225-230 
231-236 

Basal  ration  plus  carrots. 
Basal  ration  plus  mangel  beets. 

V 

9 
10 

249-254 
255-260 

Basal  ration  plus  alfalfa  meal. 
Basal  ration  only  (Control). 

for  the  ground  barley  in  the  mash  mixture  and  of  yellow  corn  for 
the  grain  mixture.  Three  per  cent  tobacco  dust  was  added  to  the 
mash  mixture  to  control  the  intestinal  round  worms.  Greens  were 
liberally  fed  to  all  birds  for  a  period  of  six  days.  Ophthalmia  was 
observed  in  one  other  bird  on  December  29.  Local  treatment  of  the 
lesions  and  the  administration  of  a  5  cc.  dose  of  cod-liver  oil,  twice 
daily,  for  five  days  resulted  in  complete  recovery.  As  the  condition 
of  the  flock  rapidly  improved,  feeding  of  the  basal  ration  was  resumed 
and  the  feeding  (one  gram  to  each  bird  daily)  of  supplements  was 
begun,  on  January  14,  1924.  The  loss  of  the  two  birds  reduced  the 
number  in  groups  V  and  VIT  from  six  to  five. 

On  January  18,  weekly  weighing  of  each  bird,  and  on  February  1, 
daily  (except  Sunday)  examination  of  each  bird  for  indications  of  the 
effect  of  vitamin  A  deficiency  was  begun. 

On  March  3,  chicken-pox  appeared  and  affected  a  few  birds.  All 
fowls  were  vaccinated  on  March  7  and  14,  respectively.     This  disease 


BULLETIN  384]         SUCCULENT  FEEDS  AS  SOURCES   OF  VITAMIN  A  7 

was  controlled  with  the  loss  of  but  one  bird  (206,  group  1)  which  died 
after  vaccination. 

The  average  daily  food  consumption  per  bird,  over  the  period  of 
102  days  was  22  grams  of  mash  and  44  grams  of  grain,  a  total  of  66 
grams.  On  this  basis,  the  proportion  of  the  daily  amounts  of  supple- 
ments fed,  to  the  total  food  consumption  was  as  follows : 

1  gram     daily  of  supplement —  1.5  per  cent  of  the  total  ration. 

2  grams  daily  of  supplement —  2.9  per  cent  of  the  total  ration. 
4  grams  daily  of  supplement —  5.7  per  cent  of  the  total  ration. 
8  grams  daily  of  supplement — 10.8  per  cent  of  the  total  ration. 

16  grams  daily  of  supplement — 19.5  per  cent  of  the  total  ration. 
32  grams  daily  of  supplement — 32.6  per  cent  of  the  total  ration. 


FINAL  KESULTS  OBTAINED  IN  THE  DIFFERENT  GEOITPS 

Pen  I,  Group  1. — Basal  ration  plus  field-grown  green  barley. 

Lesions  of  nutritional  disease  appeared  early  in  this  group.  One 
bird  (204),  showed  pustules  on  February  18,  and  bird  206  on  February 
20,  the  thirty-sixth  and  thirty-eighth  days.  The  amount  of  green 
barley  was  increased  to  two  grams  (2.9  per  cent  of  the  total  ration) 
daily  for  a  period  of  one  week,  at  the  end  of  which  time,  206  had 
recovered  and  204  was  showing  improvement.  After  this,  the  barley 
was  reduced  to  one  gram.  The  last  pustule  was  observed  in  204  on 
March  3.    No  other  cases  of  nutritional  disease  occurred. 

Two  birds  in  this  group  died;  one  (206)  on  March  16,  after  vaccina- 
tion, and  the  other  (202)  was  picked  to  death  on  April  16. 

Pen  1,  Group  2. — Basal  ration  plus  red  clover. 

One  bird  (210)  showed  lesions  of  nutritional  disease  for  a  period  of 
six  days,  February  18-23  (the  thirty-sixth  to  the  forty-first  days).  The 
amount  of  clover  was  increased  from  one  to  two  grams  for  a  period  of 
one  week,  February  21-28,  and  then  reduced  to  one  gram  during  the 
remainder  of  the  experiment.  No  further  evidence  of  the  effects  of 
vitamin  A  deficiency  appeared. 

Four  birds  in  this  group  died.  Two  of  them,  207  and  210,  were 
picked  to  death  on  April  19,  and  20,  respectively.  The  cause  of 
death  of  the  other  two,  212  on  March  19,  and  211  on  March  27,  was 
undetermined. 

All  birds  in  this  pen  (group  1  and  2)  were  unthrifty  in  appearance 
throughout  the  experiment.  They  persisted  in  eating  eggs,  and  three 
birds  were  destroyed  by  their  mates.  This  is  the  only  pen  in  the  experi- 
ment in  which  these  troubles  were  encountered. 


8  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 

Pen  II,  Group  3. — Basal  ration  plus  kale. 

Only  one  bird  (238)  showed  positive  lesions  of  nutritional  disease. 
In  this  bird,  a  few  pustules  appeared  on  the  eighty-seventh  day  and 
persisted  until  the  close  of  the  experiment.  During  the  period  of  102 
days,  the  amount  of  kale  was  maintained  at  one  gram  (1.5  per  cent  of 
the  total  ration)  daily.    No  birds  in  this  group  died. 

Pen  II,  Group  4. — Basal  ration  plus  green  alfalfa. 

One  bird  (247)  developed  positive  lesions  of  nutritional  disease  on 
the  eighty-seventh  day.  These  lesions,  although  not  severe,  were  more 
extensive  than  those  in  the  bird  receiving  kale,  and  persisted  for  the 
same  length  of  time.  The  amount  of  green  alfalfa  was  maintained  at 
one  gram  (1.5  per  cent  of  the  total  ration)  daily.  No  deaths  occurred 
in  this  group. 

Pen  III,  Group  5. — Basal  ration  plus  blue  grass. 

All  birds  remained  well  throughout  the  experiment. 

• 

Pen  III,  Group  6. — Basal  ration  plus  sprouted  barley. 

Pustules  appeared  in  the  esophagus  of  bird  222,  February  8,  the 
twenty-sixth  day.  On  February  14,  the  amount  of  sprouted  barley 
was  increased  to  two  grams  (2.9  per  cent  of  the  total  ration).  Bird 
224  developed  lesions  on  February  16,  the  thirty-fourth  day.  Since 
the  condition  of  these  birds  did  not  improve,  the  amount  of  sprouted 
barley  was  increased  to  four  grams  (5.7  per  cent  of  the  total  ration) 
on  February  21.  As  these  birds  still  failed  to  improve,  the  amount  of 
sprouted  barley  was  increased  to  eight  grams  (10.8  per  cent  of  the 
total  ration)  on  February  28.  Two  additional  birds,  221  and  223, 
exhibited  lesions  on  March  11  (the  fifty-eighth  day).  Bird  222  was 
killed  by  its  mates  on  March  13.  A  fifth  bird,  220,  developed  pustules 
on  March  17.  Four  birds  showed  pustules  and  were  unthrifty  in 
appearance  on  March  19,  therefore,  the  amount  of  sprouted  barley  was 
increased  to  sixteen  grams.  The  sprouted  barley  supplied,  from  this 
time  on,  amounted  to  19.5  per  cent  of  the  total  ration.  Within  two 
weeks  after  this  increase,  the  pustules  disappeared  in  birds  222  and 
224.  Birds  221  and  223,  however,  showed  numerous  pustules  until  the 
close  of  the  experiment  but  were,  otherwise,  apparently  in  good  con- 
dition. Although  five  of  the  six  birds  showed  evidence  of  vitamin  A 
deficiency,  no  deaths  from  this  cause  occurred. 


BULLETIN  384]  SUCCULENT  FEEDS  AS  SOURCES  OF  VITAMIN  A  9 

Pen  IV,  Group  7. — Basal  ration  plus  carrots. 

Bird  226  showed  slight  lesions  in  the  esophagus  for  three  days 
(April  10-11-12),  the  eighty-eighth,  eighty-ninth  and  ninetieth  days. 
These  were  the  only  indications  of  nutritional  disease  found  in  this 
group.  All  fowls  remained  otherwise  healthy  throughout  the  experi- 
ment. 

Pen  IV,  Group  8. — Basal  ration  plus  mangel  beets. 

Two  birds,  231  and  232,  developed  pustules  in  the  esophagus  on 
February  8,  the  twenty-sixth  day.  The  amount  of  beets  was  increased 
to  two  grams  on  February  9.  Since  the  condition  of  these  birds 
increased  in  severity,  the  amount  of  beets  was  increased  to  four  grams 
on  February  18,  and  to  eight  grams  (10.8  per  cent  of  the  total  ration) 
on  February  21.  On  February  23  (the  forty-first  day)  bird  232  died 
of  nutritional  disease  and,  on  the  same  day,  bird  235  showed  pustules. 
Bird  231  died  of  nutritional  disease  on  February  24  (the  forty-second 
day).  Two  new  cases  of  nutritional  disease  developed,  on  February  26 
and  27  (forty-fourth  and  forty-fifth  days)  in  birds  236  and  233, 
respectively.  Beets  were  increased  to  sixteen  grams  (19.5  per  cent 
of  the  total  ration)  on  February  28.  Bird  234,  the  last  bird  of  the 
group,  developed  pustules  on  March  4  (the  fifty-first  day).  As  all 
four  remaining  birds  of  the  group  showed  nutritional  disease  lesions, 
the  amount  of  beets  was  increased  to  thirty -two  grams  (32.6  per  cent 
of  the  total  ration)  on  March  7.  From  this  time  until  their  death  or 
until  the  close  of  the  experiment,  each  bird  received  thirty -two  grams 
of  beets  daily.  One  bird  voluntarily  consumed  this  amount.  The  others 
refused  to  eat  this  quantity,  even  though  they  were  allowed  to  remain 
in  the  feeding  coop  three  or  four  hours  after  the  beets  were  placed 
before  them.  These  birds  were  hand  fed  until  the  lesions  in  the 
esophagus  became  so  severe  that  "forced"  feeding  was  thought  to  be 
harmful,  which  in  every  case  was  only  a  few  days  prior  to  death. 
Bird  236  died,  April  2  (eightieth  day)  of  nutritional  disease.  Post- 
mortem examination  of  234,  which  died  April  6  (eighty-fourth  day) 
showed  kidney  lesions  characteristic  of  nutritional  disease,  deposit  of 
urates,  and  ruptured  yolk.  Bird  235  died  of  nutritional  disease 
April  18  (ninety-sixth  day).  Bird  233,  after  showing  pustules  for  a 
period  of  forty-two  days,  began  to  improve  and  at  the  close  of  the 
experiment,  although  weak  and  unthrifty  in  appearance,  it  was  free 
from  any  characteristic  lesions.  Five  of  the  six  birds  in  this  group  died 
of  nutritional  disease.  The  remaining  one  was  severely  affected  but 
was  apparently  recovering  when  the  experiment  was  terminated. 


10  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 

Ten  V,  Group  9. — Basal  ration  plus  alfalfa  meal. 

Lesions  of  nutritional  disease  appeared  in  this  group  in  bird  249, 
on  February  16,  the  thirty-fourth  day.  The  amount  of  alfalfa  meal 
was  increased  to  two  grams  (2.9  per  cent  of  the  total  ration)  on 
February  21.  The  second  bird,  250,  became  affected  February  29,  the 
forty-seventh  day.  Lesions  appeared  in  the  third  bird,  253,  on 
March  7,  the  fifty-fourth  day.  The  alfalfa  meal  was  increased  to  four 
grams  (5.7  per  cent  of  the  total  ration)  on  March  20,  and  to  eight 
grams  (10.8  per  cent  of  the  total  ration),  on  April  14.  No  more  birds 
became  affected.  Bird  249  showed  some  improvement  while  receiving 
two  grams  daily,  and  after  the  meal  had  been  increased  to  four  and  to 
eight  grams,  fluctuated  between  negative  and  positive  throughout  the 
remainder  of  the  experiment.  Bird  253  showed  some  improvement  on 
eight  grams  of  alfalfa  meal  but  the  lesions  did  not  entirely  disappear. 
The  condition  of  bird  250  remained  unchanged.  It  did  not  respond 
to  the  feeding  of  an  increased  amount  of  the  meal.  No  deaths  occurred 
in  this  group.  These  birds,  however,  were  not  so  thrifty  in  appearance 
as  the  birds  receiving  kale,  alfalfa,  blue  grass  or  carrots. 

Ten  Y,  Group  10. — Control. 

All  controls  died  of  nutritional  disease.  Five  showed  the  character- 
istic pustules  in  the  esophagus,  and  ophthalmia.    One  showed  pustules 

only. 

Bird  257  died  February  19,  the  thirty-seventh  day. 

Bird  255  died  March  2,  the  forty-ninth  day. 

Bird  260  died  March  2,  the  forty-ninth   day. 

Bird  258  died  March  18,  the  sixty-fifth  day. 

Bird  256  died  April  4,  the  eighty-second  day. 

Bird  259  died  April  16,  the  ninety-fourth  day. 

A  tabulated  summary  of  the  experiment  is  given  in  Table  2. 

DISCUSSION  OF  THE  EXPERIMENT 

Group  5,  the  supplement  for  which  was  blue  grass  lawn  clippings,, 
was  the  only  one  to  remain  free  from  any  indications  of  vitamin  A 
deficiency.  The  daily  amount  of  lawn  clippings  supplied  remained  at 
one  gram  throughout. 

The  kale,  green  alfalfa,  and  carrots  groups  (Nos.  3,  4,  and  7)  were 
about  equally  affected,  each  having  one  bird  showing  a  few  pustules 
on  the  eighty-seventh  or  eighty-eighth  days.  Although  the  daily 
amount  of  these  supplements  was  not  increased  above  the  initial  one 
gram,  no  other  birds  became  affected.  Neither  did  the  lesions  on  the 
three  become  more  severe  nor  was  their  general  health  impaired.     The 


BULLETIN  384]         SUCCULENT   FEEDS  AS  SOURCES  OF  VITAMIN  A 


11 


only  discernable  difference  between  the  the  three  groups  was  in  the 
duration  of  the  pustules  of  the  one  affected  bird  in  each  group.  This 
was  three  days  only  for  the  carrots  bird  and  until  the  close  of  the 
experiment  for  the  kale  and  green  alfalfa  birds. 

The  results  in  groups  1  and  2,  fed  field-grown  barley  and  red  clover, 
were  very  similar.     One  bird  in  each  group  exhibited  pustules  in  the 


TABLE  2 

Tabulated  Eesults  of  the  Experiment 

Started  January  14;  Terminated  April  24 


Pen 
No. 

Group 
No. 

Supplement 

Num- 
ber of 
birds 
January 
14 

Mini- 
mum 

amount 
of 

supple- 
ment 

supplied 
daily 

Maxi- 
mum 

amount 
of 

supple- 
ment 

supplied 
daily 

Num- 
ber of 
birds 
devel- 
oped 
nutri- 
tional 
disease 

Num- 
•  ber  of 
birds 
recov- 
ered 
nutri- 
tional 
disease 

Num- 
ber of 
birds 
died 
nutri- 
tional 
disease 

Num- 
ber of 
b;rds 
died 
other 
causes 

I 

1 
2 

Green  Barley 

Red  Clover 

6 
6 

1  gm 
1  gm 

2  gm8 
2  gm8 

2i 

12 

2 
1 

0 
0 

2 

4 

II 

3 

4 

Kale 

6 
6 

1  gm 
1  gm 

1  gm 
1  gm 

l3 
l3 

03 
03 

0 
0 

0 

Green  Alfalfa 

0 

III 

5 
6 

Blue  Grass 

5 
6 

1  gm 
1  gm 

1  gm 
16  gm 

0 
5 

0 
25 

0 
0 

0 

Sprouted  Barley.. 

1 

IV 

7 
8 

Carrots 

5 
6 

1  gm 
1  gm 

1  gm 
32  gm 

1* 
6 

1 

16 

0 
5 

0 

Beets 

0 

V 

9 
10 

Alfalfa  Meal 

None  (Control).... 

6 
6 

1  gm 
0 

8  gm 

0    • 

3 
6 

V 

0 

0 
6 

0 
0 

1  Observed  on  the  thirty-sixth  and  thirty-eighth  days   and  persisted  fifteen  and  two   days, 
respectively. 

2  Observed  on  the  thirty-sixth  day  and  persisted  six  days. 

3  Observed  on  the  eighty-seventh  day  and  persisted  until  the  close  of  the  experiment. 

4  Observed  on  the  eighty-eighth  day  and  persisted  three  days. 

5  Lesions  in  two  birds  persisted  until  the  close  of  the  experiment.     One  bird,  with  lesions, 
killed  by  mates. 

6  One   bird   lost   characteristic  lesions   but   was   weak   and  unthrifty   when   experiment  ter- 
minated. 

7  Lesions  in  two  birds  persisted  until  the  close  of  the  experiment. 

8  Two  grams  fed  for  one  week  only. 

Pullets  seven  months   old   at   close  of   experiment. 

§ 

esophagus  on  the  thirty-sixth  day.  Two  days  later,  one  additional  bird 
in  the  barley  group  had  a  few  pustules  which  remained  for  two  days 
only.  The  daily  amount  of  the  supplement  was  increased  to  two  grams 
for  a  period  of  one  week  and  then  reduced  to  one  gram.  No  further 
definite  evidence  of  nutritional  disease  appeared  in  these  groups.  How- 
ever, all  of  the  birds  appeared  less  thrifty  than  those  in  the  four  groups 
discussed  above,  and  the  mortality  from  other  causes  was  greater  than 
in  any  other  group. 


12  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 

In  the  alfalfa  meal  group,  three  birds  suffered  from  nutritional 
disease.  After  the  daily  feeding  had  been  increased  to  eight  grams,  two 
of  these  birds  improved  and  no  more  became  affected. 

The  results  with  sprouted  barley  as  a  supplement  were  distinctly 
inferior  to  those  obtained  with  any  other  form  of  green  food.  Five  of 
the  six  birds  developed  pustules.  It  was  necessary  to  increase  the 
daily  amount  to  sixteen  grams  (19.7  per  cent  of  the  total  ration)  before 
the  condition  of  the  affected  birds  improved,  and  additional  birds 
ceased  to  become  affected.  This  amount  is  equivalent  to  but  two  grams 
of  the  green  tops,  since  the  weight  of  this  part  was  found  to  be 
approximately  12.5  per  cent  of  that  of  the  whole  plant. 

All  of  the  six  birds  in  the  mangel  beets  group  were  severely  affected 
with  nutritional  disease  and  five  died  from  this  cause.  The  sixth  bird 
appeared  to  be  recovering  when  the  experiment  was  terminated.  The 
daily  amount  of  beets  was  increased  from  one  to  thirty-two  grams  but 
the  birds  suffering  from  vitamin  A  deficiency  were  not  benefited.  Since 
three  of  the  five  deaths  did  not  occur  until  twenty-six  to  thirty-eight 
days  after  the  thirty-two  gram  daily  feeding  was  started,  the  recovery 
of  the  one  bird  must  be  ascribed  to  natural  resistance  or  to  a  tolerance 
for  the  ration  deficient  in  vitamin  A. 

All  birds  in  group  10,  the  control  group,  developed  the  character- 
istic lesions  due  to  vitamin  A  deficiency  and  died.  This  demonstrated 
that  the  basal  ration  was  deficient  in  vitamin  A. 

The  number  of  birds  in  each  group  and  the  variation  in  the  results 
are  both  too  small  to  make  possible  an  exact  comparison  between  blue 
grass,  carrots,  kale,  green  alfalfa,  field-grown  green  barley,  and  red 
clover  as  sources  of  vitamin  A  for  poultry.  The  apparent  differences 
between  them  which  the  results  indicate,  might  be  found  non-existant 
by  further  experiments. 

The  results  do,  however,  clearly  demonstrate  that  carrots  are  equal 
in  value  to  any  of  the  others  with  the  possible  exception  of  blue  grass. 

Blue  grass  might  be  considered  superior  to  the  others  since  this  is 
the  only  group  that  remained  free  from  definite  evidence  of  vitamin  A 
deficiency.  Carrots,  kale,  and  green  alfalfa  might  be  slightly  inferior 
to  blue  grass  because  one  bird  in  each  group  showed  evidence  of  suffer- 
ing from  vitamin  A  deficiency  which  appeared  the  eighty-seventh  or 
eighty-eighth  day  of  the  experiment.  The  daily  amount  of  these  sup- 
plements given,  however,  was  not  increased  above  one  gram.  Field- 
grown  green  barley  and  red  clover  might  be  considered  somewhat  less 
effective  than  the  preceding  because  one  bird  in  each  group  exhibited 
definite  indications  of  suffering  from  vitamin  A  deficiency  on  the 
thirty-sixth  day,  which  is  much  earlier  than  in  the  carrots,  kale,  or 


BULLETIN  384]         SUCCULENT  FEEDS  AS  SOURCES  OF  VITAMIN  A  13 

green  alfalfa  groups.  Furthermore,  the  birds  were  less  thrifty  in 
appearance  and  the  mortality  from  causes  other  than  nutritional 
disease  was  greater  than  in  the  other  groups,  and  the  amount  of  these 
supplements  was  increased  to  two  grams  for  a  period  of  seven  days. 
However,  as  previously  pointed  out,  considering  the  small  number  of 
birds  in  each  group,  the  variation  in  the  results  is  not  sufficient  to 
warrant  the  conclusion  that  definite  differences  exist  between  these 
supplements  as  sources  of  vitamin  A  for  poultry. 

Alfalfa  meal  was  distinctly  inferior  to  any  of  the  above  mentioned 
supplements  since  it  was  necessary  to  increase  this  to  eight  grams  daily. 
This  is  four  times  the  maximum  daily  amount  of  any  of  the  others. 

It  was  necessary  to  increase  the  amount  of  sprouted  barley  from 
one  to  sixteen  grams  to  prevent  development  of  lesions  resulting  from 
vitamin  A  deficiency.  This  was  twice  the  maximum  amount  of  alfalfa 
meal  and  eight  times  the  maximum  amount  of  blue  grass,  carrots,  kale, 
green  alfalfa,  field-grown  green  barley  or  red  clover.  The  weights  of 
the  sprouted  barley  represent  the  weights  of  the  entire  plant,  although 
the  green  top  is  the  only  part  of  the  plant  from  which  any  appreciable 
amount  of  vitamin  A  is  derived.  This,  however,  was  thought  to  be 
the  best  basis  for  determining  its  value  because  it  is  in  this  form  that 
sprouted  barley  is  commonly  used  by  poultrymen.  Had  we  supplied 
only  the  green  tops,  the  results  would  probably  have  been  comparable 
to  those  obtained  from  some  of  the  other  forms  of  green  food  since  the 
largest  amount  supplied  contained  only  two  grams  of  green  top. 

The  results  with  mangel  beets  indicated  that  they  were  entirely 
ineffective  and,  therefore,  as  a  source  of  vitamin  A  for  poultry, 
valueless. 


CONCLUSIONS 

In  conclusion,  the  writers  desire  to  point  out  that  the  amount  of 
supplements  fed  represent  the  minimum  requirements  to  prevent  the 
occurrence  of  lesions  characteristic  of  vitamin  A  deficiency  and  do  not 
necessarily  represent  the  actual  requirements  for  good  health  and 
productivity.  Furthermore,  this  experiment  deals  only  with  greens  as 
a  source  of  vitamin  A  and  gives  no  consideration  to  the  value  of  green 
food  in  providing  succulence,  bulk,  or  minerals  in  the  ration.  There- 
fore, no  recommendations  as  to  the  exact  amount  of  greens  that  should 
be  fed  to  poultry  can  be  made.  The  following  general  suggestions, 
however,  for  the  practical  application  of  the  results  of  this  work 
can  be  made. 


14  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 

First. — All  of  the  varieties  of  field-grown  greens  used  are  good 
sources  of  vitamin  A  for  poultry.  In  making  selections  among  them, 
the  poultryman  needs  consider  only  their  adaptability  for  culture  in 
his  locality. 

Second. — Carrots  appear  to  be  equal  in  value  to  the  field  grown 
greens  and.  therefore,  should  make  satisfactory  substitutes  for  them. 

Third. — If  sprouted  barley  is  used  as  the  entire  source  of  vitamin 
A  for  poultry,  the  amount  fed  should  be  in  excess  of  20  per  cent  of 
the  total  ration. 

Fourth. — If  alfalfa  meal  is  used  as  the  entire  source  of  vitamin  A 
for  poultry,  the  amount  fed  should  be  in  excess  of  10  per  cent  of  the 
total  ration. 

Fifth. — Mangel  beets  appear  to  be  valueless  as  a  source  of  vitamin 
A  for  poultry. 

Finally,  the  writers  desire  to  call  attention  to  the  utilization  of 
cod-liver  oil  as  an  emergency  source  of  vitamin  A  when  no  greens 
can  be  obtained.  The  incorporation  of  at  least  2  per  cent6  of  this 
oil  in  the  mash  will,  in  all  probability,  prevent  any  loss  due  to  vitamin 
A  deficiency.  The  use  of  yellow  corn  as  the  grain  ration  will  also  be 
effective  for  this  purpose. 


6  Based  on  results  of  experiments  described  in  California  Experiment  Station 
Bulletin  378. 


STATION  PUBLICATIONS  AVAILABLE  FOR  FREE  DISTRIBUTION 


BULLETINS 

No.  No. 

253.  Irrigation   and   Soil  Conditions  in  the  346. 

Sierra  Nevada  Foothills,  California.  347. 

261.  Melaxuma    of    the    Walnut,    "Juglans 

regia."  348. 

262.  Citrus   Diseases   of  Florida   and  Cuba  349. 

Compared  with  Those  of  California. 

263.  Size  Grades  for  Ripe  Olives.  350. 
268.  Growing  and  Grafting  Olive  Seedlings.  351. 
273.   Preliminary  Report  on  Kearney  Vine-  352. 

yard  Experimental  Drain. 

275.  The  Cultivation  of  Belladonna  in  Cali-  353. 

fornia.  354. 

276.  The  Pomegranate.  357. 

277.  Sudan  Grass 

278.  Grain  Sorghums. 

279.  Irrigation  of  Rice  in  California.  358. 

280.  Irrigation  of  Alfalfa  in  the  Sacramento 

Valley.  359. 

283.  The  Olive  Insects  of  California.  360. 

285.  The  Milk  Goat  in  California. 

286.  Commercial  Fertilizers.  361. 

287.  Vinegar  from  Waste  Fruits. 

294.   Bean  Culture  in  California.  362. 

298.   Seedless  Raisin  Grapes.  363. 

304.  A   Study  of  the  Effects  of  Freezes  on 

Citrus   in   California.  364. 

310.  Plum  Pollination. 

312.  Mariout  Barley.  366. 

313.  Pruning  Young  Deciduous  Fruit  Trees. 

317.   Selections  of  Stocks  in  Citrus  Propa-  367. 

gation. 
319.   Caprifigs  and  Caprification.  368. 

321.   Commercial  Production  of  Grape  Syrup. 

324.  Storage  of  Perishable  Fruit  at  Freezing  369. 

Temperatures.  370. 

325.  Rice  Irrigation  Measurements  and  Ex-  371. 

periments     in     Sacramento     Valley, 
1914-1919.  372. 

328.  Prune  Growing  in  California. 

331.   Phylloxera-Resistant  Stocks.  373. 

334.  Preliminary  Volume  Tables  for  Second-  374. 

Growth  Redwood. 

335.  Cocoanut  Meal   as    a   Feed   for  Dairy 

Cows  and  Other  Livestock.  375. 

336.  The   Preparation  of  Nicotine  Dust  as 

an  Insecticide.  376. 

339.  The  Relative  Cost  of  Making  Logs  from 

Small  and  Large  Timber.  377. 

340.  Control  of  the  Pocket  Gopher  in  Cali-  378. 

fornia. 

343.  Cheese  Pests  and  Their  Control. 

344.  Cold  Storage  as  an  Aid  to  the  Market- 

ing of  Plums. 


Almond  Pollination. 

The  Control  of  Red  Spiders  in  Decidu- 
ous Orchards. 

Pruning  Young  Olive  Trees. 

A  Study  of  Sidedraft  and  Tractor 
Hitches. 

Agriculture  in  Cut-over  Redwood  Lands. 

California  State  Dairy  Cow  Competition. 

Further  Experiments  in  Plum  Pollina- 
tion. 

Bovine  Infectious  Abortion. 

Results  of  Rice  Experiments  in  1922. 

A  Self-mixing  Dusting  Machine  for 
Applying  Dry  Insecticides  and 
Fungicides. 

Black  Measles,  Water  Berries,  and 
Related  Vine  Troubles. 

Fruit  Beverage  Investigations. 

Gum  Diseases  of  Citrus  Trees  in  Cali- 
fornia. 

Preliminary  Yield  Tables  for  Second 
Growth  Redwood. 

Dust  and  the  Tractor  Engine. 

The  Pruning  of  Citrus  Trees  in  Cali- 
fornia. 

Fungicidal  Dusts  for  the  Control  of 
Bunt. 

Turkish  Tobacco  Culture,  Curing  and 
Marketing. 

Methods  of  Harvesting  and  Irrigation 
in  Relation  to  Mouldy  Walnuts. 

Bacterial  Decomposition  of  Olives  dur- 
ing Pickling. 

Comparison  of  Woods  for  Butter  Boxes. 

Browning  of  Yellow  Newtown  Apples. 

The  Relative  Cost  of  Yarding  Small 
and  Large  Timber. 

The  Cost  of  Producing  Market  Milk  and 
Butterfat  on  246  California  Dairies. 

Pear  Pollination. 

A  Survey  of  Orchard  Practices  in  the 
Citrus  Industry  of  Southern  Cali- 
fornia. 

Results  of  Rice  Experiments  at  Cor- 
tena,    1923. 

Sun-Drying  and  Dehydration  of  Wal- 
nuts. 

The  Cold  Storage  of  Pears. 

Stwdies  on  the  Nutritional  Disease  of 
Poultry  Caused  by  Vitamin  A  De- 
ficiency. 


CIRCULARS 

No.  No. 

70.   Observations    on    the    Status    of    Corn  155. 

Growing  in  California.  157. 

87.  Alfalfa.  160. 

111.  The  Use  of  Lirae  and  Gypsum  on  Cali-  161. 

fornia  Soils.  164. 

113.  Correspondence  Courses  in  Agriculture.  165. 
117.  The    Selection    and    Cost    of    a    Small 

Pumping  Plant.  166. 

127.  House  Fumigation.  167. 

129.  The  Control  of  Citrus  Insects.  170. 
136.  Melilotvs   indica    as    a    Green-Manure 

Crop  for  California.  172. 

144.   Oidium  or  Powdery  Mildew  of  the  Vine.  173. 

151.  Feeding:  and  Management  of  Hogs. 

152.  Some  Observations  on  the  Bulk  Hand-  174. 

ling  of  Grain  in  California.  178. 

154.   Irrigation  Practice  in  Growing  Small  179. 
Fruit  in  California. 


Bovine  Tuberculosis. 

Control  of  the  Pear  Scab. 

Lettuce  Growing  in  California. 

Potatoes  in  California. 

Small  Fruit  Culture  in  California. 

Fundamentals  of   Sugar   Beet   Culture 

under  California  Conditions. 
The  County  Farm  Bureau. 
Feeding  Stuffs  of  Minor  Importance. 
Fertilizing  California  Soils  for  the  1918 

Crop. 
Wheat  Culture. 
The   Construction    of   the   Wood-Hoop 

Silo. 
Farm  Drainage  Methods. 
The  Packing  of  Apples  in  California. 
Factors    of   Importance    in    Producing 

Milk  of  Low  Bacterial  Count. 


CIRCULARS —  (  Continued ) 


No. 

184. 

190. 

193. 

198. 

199. 

202. 

203. 
205. 
208. 

209. 
210. 
212. 
214. 

215. 
217. 

219. 
220. 
228. 
230. 

231. 
232. 

233. 
234. 

235. 

236. 


237. 

238. 
239. 

240. 

241. 

242. 
243. 

244. 


No. 

A  Flock  of  Sheep  on  the  Farm.  245. 

Agriculture  Clubs  in  California.  247. 

A  Study  of  Farm  Labor  in  California.  248. 
Syrup  from  Sweet  Sorghum. 

Onion  Growing  in  California.  249. 

County   Organizations   for  Rural  Fire  250. 

Control. 

Peat  as  a  Manure  Substitute.  251. 
Blackleg. 
Summary  of  the  Annual  Reports  of  the 

Farm  Advisors  of  California.  252. 

The  Function  of  the  Farm  Bureau.  253. 

Suggestions  to  the  Settler  in  California.  254. 
Salvaging  Rain-Damaged  Prunes. 

Seed  Treatment  for  the  Prevention  of  255. 

Cereal  Smuts. 

Feeding  Dairy  Cows  in  California.  256. 

Methods  for  Marketing  Vegetables  in  257. 

California.  258. 

The  Present  Status  of  Alkali.  259. 

Unfermented  Fruit  Juices.  260. 
Vineyard  Irrigation  in  Arid  Climates. 

Testing  Milk,    Cream,   and  Skim  Milk  261. 

for  Butterfat.  262. 

The  Home  Vineyard.  263. 

Harvesting    and    Handling    California  264. 

Cherries  for  Eastern  Shipment. 

Artificial  Incubation.  265. 

Winter  Injury  to  Young  Walnut  Trees  266. 

during  1921-22. 

Soil  Analysis  and  Soil  and  Plant  Inter-  267. 
relations. 

The  Common  Hawks  and  Owls  of  Cali-  268. 

fornia    from   the    Standpoint   of   the 

Rancher.  269. 

Directions  for  the  Tanning  and  Dress-  270. 

of  Furs.  271. 

The  Apricot  in  California.  272. 
Harvesting  and  Handling  Apricots  and 

Plums  for  Eastern  Shipment.  273. 

Harvesting   and   Handling   Pears   for  275. 

Eastern  Shipment. 

Harvesting  and  Handling  Peaches  for  276. 

Eastern  Shipment.  277. 
Poultry  Feeding. 

Marmalade  Juice  and  Jelly  Juice  from  278. 

Citrus  Fruits. 
Central  Wire  Bracing  for  Fruit  Trees. 


Vine  Pruning  Systems. 

Colonization  and  Rural  Development. 

Some  Common  Errors  in  Vine  Pruning 
and  Their  Remedies. 

Replacing  Missing  Vines. 

Measurement  of  Irrigation  Water  on 
the  Farm. 

Recommendations  Concerning  the  Com- 
mon Diseases  and  Parasites  of 
Poultry  in  California. 

Supports  for  Vines. 

Vineyard  Plans. 

The  Use  of  Artificial  Light  to  Increase 
Winter  Egg  Production. 

Leguminous  Plants  as  Organic  Fertil- 
izer in  California  Agriculture. 

The  Control  of  Wild  Morning  Glory. 

The  Small-Seeded  Horse  Bean. 

Thinning  Deciduous  Fruits. 

Pear  By-products. 

A  Selected  List  of  References  Relating 
to  Irrigation  in  California. 

Sewing  Grain  Sacks. 

Cabbage  Growing  in  California. 

Tomato  Production  in  California. 

Preliminary  Essentials  to  Bovine  Tuber- 
culosis Control. 

Plant  Disease  and  Pest  Control. 

Analyzing  the  Citrus  Orchard  by  Means 
of  Simple  Tree  Records. 

The  Tendency  of  Tractors  to  Rise  in 
Front;  Causes  and  Remedies. 

Inexpensive  Lavor-saving  Poultry  Ap- 
pliances. 

An  Orchard  Brush  Burner. 

A  Farm  Septic  Tank. 

Brooding  Chicks  Artificially. 

California  Farm  Tenancy  and  Methods 
of  Leasing. 

Saving  the  Gophered  Citrus  Tree. 

Marketable  California  Decorative 
Greens. 

Home  Canning. 

Head,  Cane,  and  Cordon  Pruning  of 
Vines. 

Olive  Pickling  in  Mediterranean  Coun- 
tries. 


20m-l,'25 


The  publications  listed  above  may  be  had  by  addressing 

College  of  Agriculture, 

University  of  California, 

Berkeley,  California. 


